It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the October 17, 2005 meeting be approved as written. Motion carried unanimously.

III. Report of the Dean (J. Thomas)

Program Review - Program Review for master’s-level programs has been reinstated at WSU in response to the upcoming NCA reaccreditation visit and related Institutional Plan for Improvement. The reviews will be conducted on a 7-year cycle. Those master’s programs that undergo review by a professional accreditation body, such as AACSB or NCATE, will only need to report to the University on the results of the accreditation review in some fashion. Doctoral programs will continue to be reviewed according to OBR criteria, as is the current practice. In all, approximately 30 master’s programs will be subject to review, which means that there will be from 4 to 5 programs reviewed each year in the cycle. Current thinking is that a Program Review Committee will be formed each year for oversight of the process to represent at least those colleges with programs under review that year. A report will be prepared for each review; the appropriate dean will review it and add comments; and the documents will then be sent to the Policies Committee for a “review of the review.” The new process may include external as well as internal reviewers, which would add an outside perspective of the program.

Distance Learning – NCA requires approval of programs that have more than 50% of their courses offered in a distance learning format. NCA provides criteria for such approval, as well as a compendium of Best Practices. An internal review process is being developed for WSU. As part of the upcoming NCA evaluation for continuing accreditation, it is intended to ask NCA for blanket approval of WSU distance learning programs, including five Department of Educational Leadership concentrations from Fall 2004. Such approval will, in part, be based on following our own internal processes.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD’s) - Effective Fall Quarter 2006, WSU plans to shift from paper to electronic submission of theses and dissertations (ETD’s). In lieu of paper documents being submitted to University Libraries for deposit, ETD’s will be submitted to OhioLINK, in Columbus, for deposit.

IV. Committee Reports

• Policies Committee (L. Ream)
The Committee discussed plans for switching from paper to electronic submission of thesis and dissertation documents (ETD’s), and is currently reviewing the proposal for implementation.

A new policy on Guidelines for Approval and Conduct of Graduate Distance Education Programswas discussed and approved by the Committee for consideration by the Council. Following discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve the Guidelines; the motion was unanimously approved. The Guidelines will appear as chapter 4 in the Graduate Council Policies and Procedures Manual. A copy is attached.

The Committee also coonsidered a proposal from the College of Education and Human Services, Department of Education al Leadership, to appprove five M.Ed. concentrations for offering in a distance learning format. The concentrations are:

Following discussion and additional input from CEHS, the Committee approved the CEHS proposal to go forward to NCA. The proposal followed the Guidelines just approved by the Council.

• Membership Committee (J. Petrick)

The Committee met November 10, 2005 and considered and recommended 3 nominations for full graduate faculty membership and 4 nominations for adjunct full graduate faculty membership.

The full member nominees are:

Bubulya, Paula

Bio Sci/S&M

Kenyon, Lisa

Bio Sci, Teacher Ed/S&M, Ed&HS

Stireman, John

Bio Sci/S&M

The adjunct full nominees are:

Lloyd, Charles

Psych/S&M

Schiml-Webb, Patricia

Psych/S&M

Simpson, Stuart

EnviroSci/S&M

Webb, Paul

BIE/Egr&CS

It was moved and seconded that the nominees be approved; the motion passed unanimously.

Research Council (W. Sellers)

The RSP annual report for FY 2005 highlighting WSU Women in Research is now available.

Battelle is doing a study of Ohio uniivversities core ompetencies. Two daylong visits were hosted in early summer during which numerous WSU faculty members met with the study coordinators. An early report draft presents a favorable summary of WSU research strengths.

V. Old Business

Stephen Foster continued a discussion about the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) proposal. Compared to peer institutions, Wright State University has the fewest number of electronically submitted thesis and dissertations (electronic submission has been made mandatory in some institutions).

An ETD policy will be presented to the Policies Committee in Winter Quarter, 2006. The draft poliy is attached to these minutes.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

Distance education is defined as a formal educational process in which the majority (>50%) of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. Distance education may employ correspondence study, audio, video, or computer technologies.
Distance education programs as defined herein are governed by an agreement of the regional accrediting associations. Wright State University is subject to policies and procedures disseminated by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

4.20 Overview of Approval Process
In order for an existing graduate degree program or graduate certificate program to be officially designated and offered through distance delivery methods, including but not limited to electronically offered or on-line programs, a proposal for such delivery must first be reviewed and approved. The initial approval is by the appropriate college or school graduate studies committee and the college or school faculty if required by that unit. The proposal is then forwarded to the School of Graduate Studies for review by the Graduate Council through its Policies Committee. Graduate distance education programs must then be submitted to and approved by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). If the program being proposed for distance delivery is a new or revised program, approval of the new program or the program revisions must proceed in parallel with approval of distance delivery by the procedures described for such approvals in this Manual, chapter 3.
4.30 Preparing Distance Education Program Proposals
A proposal to offer a program by distance delivery should be prepared by following the outline given in NCA's Seeking Approval of Proposed Changes: Documentation to Support a Change Request (The Higher Learning Commission Handbook of Accreditation, Sec 7.2) and available at (tbd)
In the process of completing this outline, the proposal author should also address the expectations for a quality distance education program given in Guidelines for Distance Education which is available at (tbd)

In addition, the proposal author should prepare a one page Executive Summary to accompany the proposal during the review cycle.

Following college approval, one copy of the proposal and the executive summary should be submitted, preferably electronically, by the college dean to the School of Graduate Studies.
Once the proposal has received approval through the internal process, the Office of the Provost will submit the proposal for review to the NCA.
4.40 Best Practices for Electronically Offered Programs
To assist institutions in implementing and maintaining the quality of electronically offered programs, the eight regional accrediting commissions have developed and published Best Practices For Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs. In developing, implementing, maintaining, and assessing distance learning programs, departments and colleges and schools should follow those practices available at: (tbd)

6.88 One (1) electronic copy of the thesis, in portable document format (pdf), must be deposited with OhioLINK not later than 30 days after the end of the quarter in which the degree will be granted (due dates are published by the Graduate School and distributed to the departments and program offices). An electronic thesis or dissertation is called an ETD. OhioLINK, in Columbus, is the repository for ETD’s for the state university system in Ohio.

Students may seek assistance in preparing and setting up their ETD files either from the Graduate School (344 Student Union) or at the Student Technical Assistance Center (STAC) in 240 Paul Laurence Dunbar Library. The ETD submitted to OhioLINK must be carefully produced and free of errors in style, mechanics, and format; therefore, a format check by the Graduate School in advance of submitting the final ETD is strongly recommended. The student should submit the ETD file as an e-mail attachment to etd@wright.edu or on a CD to the Graduate School for the format check

Once the format has been checked and all additions and corrections made, the student may submit the final ETD directly to OhioLINK at http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/ or through the Graduate School for transmittal to OhioLINK. The ETD is e-mailed as an attachment to OhioLINK, or it can be submitted to the Graduate School either as an e-mail attachment to etd@wright.edu or on a CD. . When a Wright State ETD has been received, OhioLINK notifies the Graduate School of receipt by e-mail. The ETD is not placed online at OhioLINK until the Graduate School has approved it for release.

In cases where a patent, copyright, or other intellectual property issue is involved, the student and advisor can request a publication delay or embargo of the ETD from the Dean, School of Graduate Studies for any length of time, as mutually determined. In this case, the ETD is placed on a secure server. It is not released to a public server until approved by the University

In cases where the thesis cannot be prepared as an ETD (e.g., some creative theses), the student may request a waiver to the ETD requirement by submitting an academic petition to the Graduate School in advance of the due date.

Because some departments require additional copies of the thesis (paper or electronic), students should consult their advisors to determine the total number of copies needed. Departments or program offices are responsible for binding any paper copies that may be retained by them. Students interested in having their own paper copies bound for personal use may obtain information on binding either from the Graduate School or the University Libraries Administrative Office in 126 Paul Laurence Dunbar Library. Students are responsible for paying binding fees for their own personal copies.

6.89 One (1) original paper copy of the signed approval page must be submitted to the Graduate School before the student’s ETD can be approved. The signed approval page is kept on file in the Graduate School. The ETD will be submitted to OhioLINK, either by the student or the Graduate School, with the approval page containing the typed names of the faculty, but with no signatures. The signature of the department chair on the original approval page of the thesis verifies only that the student has successfully passed the oral defense and that the format is acceptable to the department. The final copy must be approved by the Dean, School of Graduate Studies.